Big Bear resident Theresa Vazquez said the close-knit, small town community can only wait to hear news updates on the police firefight in the ongoing manhunt for former Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner, who is accused of killing multiple law enforcement officers and two civilians.

One of the major concerns on locals' minds, she said, is whether the officer the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department recently confirmed dead was someone they knew.

"We are just waiting to hear who the officer was who passed away. We are hoping its not one of our local deputies," Vazquez said. "To think (Dorner has) been up here this whole time, everybody has been really on edge, taking extra precautions, making sure everybody is home safe and doors are locked and kids are safe."

She said the security situation at the schools has also been a major concern. Vazquez's six-year-old grandson attends kindergarten at Baldwin Lane Elementary School, which was locked down today as the search for Dorner intensified into a firefight at a cabin in Angelus Oaks. Vazquez's daughter, she said, also lived about 15 houses away from where Dorner's alleged hostages were found earlier today.

"My grandson's school was locked down on Thursday, no school on Friday, and locked down today, and of course all the parents are on Facebook can we get our kids, can we get in?" Vazquez said. "Monday there were armed police at the schools and one of the banks had an armed guard up here."

Vazquez, 55, who lives by the local airport, said the past few days have been defined by zooming police vehicles with sirens blaring and police helicopters taking off and landing as part of the ongoing manhunt. She said many in the community chose to leave or stay home, and she and her husband only ventured outside for the first time yesterday.

"Being so close, being locked down again, those things just don't happen up here in Big Bear, that is something you read about happening elsewhere," she said.

Sarah, a Big Bear resident who did not want to give her last name, said the area where Dorner is alleged to have engaged police in a firefight is "pretty remote" and is an area that is closed during the winter because of icy roads.

"They close that area down in winter because the roads get snowed over so hopefully nobody was in the area so I don't know," Sarah said. "That's down the backside (of the mountain), it's very remote."

Both Sarah and Vazquez said smoke reported from the cabin could not be seen from the main Big Bear area because Angelus Oaks is on the other side of a ridge.